DTF vs Screen Print Transfers (2026): Cost per Shirt by Order Size

When people search "DTF vs screen printing" they usually mean screen printing done straight onto the shirt. But if you press shirts with a heat press, the real choice is between two kinds of transfers: DTF transfers and screen print transfers (also called plastisol transfers). Both arrive as a sheet you press. The short version, from the prices we read: for a one color logo, a screen print transfer cost less than our DTF at 24 pieces with one of the three options we priced, at 48 with two of them, and at 144 and 216 with all three; at 12 pieces our DTF was the cheapest option. For designs with two or more colors, gradients or photos, our DTF cost less at all five order sizes we priced. Below we explain the difference, put them side by side, and show what each one costs per transfer and in materials per shirt (blank plus transfer, before pressing) at 12 to 216 pieces, with every price sourced and dated. Prices were read on September 22, 2026.

Screen Print Transfers Are Not the Same as Screen Printing

Direct screen printing pushes ink through a mesh screen onto the garment. Each color needs its own screen, made by coating the mesh with a light sensitive emulsion and hardening it under UV light, and the shirt is printed one color at a time (Printful's guide explains the steps and describes it as the method for bulk orders and bold, simple designs).

A screen print transfer uses the same screens and the same plastisol ink, but the design is printed onto a release paper instead of the shirt. You get a stack of transfers and press them yourself with a heat press, whenever you need them. Transfer Express, a screen print transfer supplier, states on its Goof Proof product page that its transfers are "just as durable as direct screen printing" (read Sep 22, 2026). The practical difference is who does the work: with transfers you skip the screens, the ink and the print shop, and you only need a heat press. That is also what you need for DTF, which is why the two make a fair comparison.

How Each Transfer Is Made and Applied

A DTF transfer (direct to film) is printed digitally on a clear film with white and color ink, coated with a hot-melt adhesive powder and cured. There are no screens, so a design with one color costs the same as one with fifty, and gradients and photos print as they are. To apply one: pre-press the empty garment for 10 seconds, press the transfer for 10 seconds at 300°F (280°F on polyester), wait 5 to 10 seconds and peel the film, then cover the design (Teflon sheet for a glossy finish, cotton or linen for a matte finish) and seal for 10 seconds.

A screen print transfer is printed with spot colors: pre-mixed opaque inks, one screen per color. FM Expressions explains it plainly on its screen print transfers page: "to print a black and red image we will setup two screens." That is why suppliers price them by the number of colors, and why most ask for vector artwork (Transfer Express: "Screen printed transfers require vector artwork"; "some special effects such as fades and shading can't be produced with screen printing"). The screens are paid for one way or another: FM Expressions charges a setup fee per design on its single image transfers, while Transfer Express has no setup fee and builds it into a per sheet price with a minimum order. Some suppliers also offer a full color version printed with CMYK inks and an optional white underbase, at a higher price. Application is fast, and each supplier publishes its own settings. Transfer Express Goof Proof: 365°F for 4 to 6 seconds (one color) or 10 seconds (multi color) on cotton and blends, and 325 to 335°F for 10 to 12 seconds for one color on 100% polyester. FM Expressions Fashion: 340°F for 7 seconds. In every case the paper is peeled hot, right after opening the press.

Side by Side

What a Transfer Costs by Order Size

To compare like with like we priced one adult front, about 11 by 12 inches, per shirt, and for every option we took the cheapest purchase that covers the run, even when that means buying more pieces than you need. That is how gang sheets already work (a sheet can hold more fronts than the job needs), and screen print transfers can behave the same way when a quantity discount outweighs the extra pieces: for 48 shirts, 48 single image transfers from Transfer Express cost $117.60, while 50 of the same transfer cost $62.50, so the 50 piece purchase is the one we price. For DTF we used our own custom DTF gang sheets by the inch ($0.35 per inch of length on a 24 inch wide sheet, dropping to $0.31 per inch on the longest sheets; full DTF transfer pricing per inch) and counted how many fronts fit on the cheapest combination of sheets that covers the run. For screen print transfers we compared four ordering options from two suppliers: Transfer Express Goof Proof as a single image and as a gang sheet, and FM Expressions single image in one color and in full color. In every case the cost shown is the total outlay divided by the shirts you actually press, and the cell says when the cheapest purchase leaves spare transfers. Every figure is transfer only: no garment, no press time, no shipping, no tax.

How each column was built. Our DTF: 12 fronts on an 84 in sheet ($29.40), 24 on a 156 in sheet ($51.48), 48 on a 300 in sheet ($96.00), 144 on a 300 in plus a 600 in sheet ($282.00), 216 on a 250 in, a 500 in and a 600 in sheet ($421.00), with no spare fronts at any of those sizes; fronts placed in straight rows, two per row, half an inch apart, so the counts are a floor and a real layout can fit more. FM Expressions: single image 12 x 12 in, one color at $0.30 each up to 74 pieces and $0.20 from 75, plus a $30 setup; full color Fashion formula at $2.75 each for 50 to 74, $1.85 for 75 to 99 and $1.70 from 100, plus an $85 setup and a 50 piece minimum, which is why the 12 and 24 shirt figures come from buying 50. Transfer Express, single image: Goof Proof 11 x 14 in, one color only (33 stock colors), one image per sheet, 25 piece minimum, Easy Prints or Vector art at the same price, $2.45 each from 25 to 49, $1.25 from 50 to 99, $1.15 from 100 to 149 and $0.95 from 150 to 299, no setup fee; the 48 and 144 shirt figures come from buying 50 and 150, which cost less in total than 48 and 144. Transfer Express, gang sheet: Goof Proof 11.25 x 14 in (one adult front per sheet), "Vector (your art)" price list, USD per sheet at the exact quantities of its table, no setup fee; its stock art price list is a little lower and its non-vector list (they redraw your file) is higher. All prices read on September 22, 2026 from each supplier's public pricing page.

Materials Cost per Shirt by Order Size: Blank Plus Transfer, Before Pressing

Add a blank to the transfer and you have the materials cost of the shirt. We used a common budget tee, a Gildan G500 Heavy Cotton in white, sizes S to XL, at $2.61 each, the guest price on ShirtSpace on September 22, 2026. The same blank goes on both sides of the table, so it does not change which transfer is cheaper. What these numbers leave out: your labor at the press (the two methods use different press sequences, so we do not assume the same time or cost), shipping (UPS Ground free from $99 with us, $11.99 below that; Transfer Express charges a flat $15) and taxes.

Materials cost is the blank plus the transfer from the table above, rounded to the cent, counting only the shirts you press. Change the blank and every column moves by the same amount.

What the Numbers Say

• One color logo: at the five order sizes we priced, FM Expressions' single image transfer cost less than our DTF from 24 pieces on ($1.55 against $2.15 at 24, $0.41 against $1.96 at 144); Transfer Express' single image transfer from 48 on ($1.30 against $2.00 at 48, buying 50 because 50 cost less in total than 48; $0.99 against $1.96 at 144, buying 150); and its gang sheet at 144 and 216 ($1.72 and $1.56 against $1.96 and $1.95). At 12 pieces our DTF was the cheapest option: $2.45, against $2.80 for the closest screen print transfer.
• Two or more spot colors: every color adds a screen and a price step. Transfer Express' two color gang sheet cost more than our full color DTF at every size in the table, from $11.84 against $2.45 at 12 pieces to $2.85 against $1.95 at 216. Its single image option is one color only.
• Full color, gradients or photos: our DTF cost less at all five sizes. FM Expressions' full color transfer carries an $85 setup and a 50 piece minimum, so it cost $4.64 per shirt for a run of 48 and $2.29 at 144, against $2.00 and $1.96 for DTF. FM Expressions itself recommends its full color screen print transfers over its own DTF from 50 pieces; that is a comparison inside its own price list. Against our per inch pricing it did not hold at the sizes we ran.
• Compare totals, not unit prices. Buying extra transfers can reduce the total cost when a quantity discount outweighs the cost of the additional pieces. Compare the total purchase amounts before ordering. It works out in some cases and not in others: 50 single image transfers from Transfer Express at $1.25 cost $62.50, while 48 at $2.45 cost $117.60; but 75 of FM Expressions' one color transfer cost $45.00, against $44.40 for 48, so there the larger order does not pay. The same choice comes up with our sheets, where a longer sheet can carry fronts you have not sold yet.

These are the prices of the day for four ordering options from two suppliers, one design size and five order sizes, with straight row layouts on our side. They say nothing about other suppliers, about other sheet sizes from these two, or about the cost of direct screen printing, which we did not price. Your own numbers will move with the ordering option, the art you send (vector or not), the supplier and the shipping on each order, so run them again before a big job.

Whichever you press, keep our DTF heat press settings by fabric next to the press for the DTF jobs and follow the supplier's sheet for the screen print ones; the temperatures are not the same. If you are also weighing digital methods, read DTF vs DTG and DTF vs sublimation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is better, screen print or DTF?

It depends on the design and the batch. For a one color design, in the prices we read, a screen print transfer cost less than our DTF at 24, 48, 144 and 216 shirts with FM Expressions' single image transfer, at 48, 144 and 216 with Transfer Express' single image transfer, and at 144 and 216 with its gang sheet; it also gives the classic plastisol feel. In the same comparison, our DTF cost less at 12 shirts and at every size when the design had two or more colors, gradients or photos, because there is no setup fee, no minimum and no color limit; it is also the option when one order mixes many designs or fabrics.

What is the difference between a screen print transfer and screen printing?

Screen printing puts the ink straight onto the garment through a mesh screen, one screen per color. A screen print transfer is printed with the same screens and plastisol ink onto a release paper; you press it onto the shirt later with a heat press. Transfer Express states its screen printed transfers are as durable as direct screen printing.

Which is cheaper, DTF or screen print transfers?

For one adult front per shirt, on September 22, 2026: FM Expressions' one color transfer cost $0.93 at 48 shirts and $0.41 at 144 with its $30 setup included, and Transfer Express' one color single image transfer cost $1.30 at 48 shirts (buying 50, which cost less in total than 48) and $0.99 at 144 (buying 150), against $2.00 and $1.96 for our full color DTF. For full color, our DTF cost less at all five sizes we priced, including $1.96 at 144 shirts against $2.29 for FM Expressions' full color transfer with its $85 setup included. These are transfer prices only: add the blank and your own press time before you compare, and keep in mind that the two methods use different press sequences.

How long does DTF last vs screen printing?

We have not tested them side by side. Standard DTF transfers pressed at 300°F on cotton and polyester in our shop went through 50 washes with no cracks, no peeling and no fading; that is how far we tested, not a limit. Transfer Express states its Goof Proof screen print transfers were independently tested through 50 wash and dry cycles, and guides such as Printful describe direct screen printing as lasting through years of washing.

Is DTF replacing screen printing?

Not in one color bulk work: in the prices we read, one color screen print transfers from both suppliers cost less than our DTF at 144 and 216 pieces. We did not price direct screen printing. DTF covers the jobs screen printing handles poorly: full color, small batches, many designs in one order and mixed fabrics.